The town currently envisions a $6.8 million project to reconfigure Massachusetts Avenue along a mile-long stretch in East Arlington. The busy thoroughfare now has two travel lanes for cars and trucks in each direction. Arlington officials have proposed reducing the number of vehicle lanes, mostly on the westbound side of the avenue, in order to install bicycle lanes on each side of the roadway. The project will also include sidewalk and pedestrian-crossing improvements. The East Arlington Concerned Citizens Committee collected more than 3,000 signatures to get a nonbinding question on the town election ballot April 6. The measure asks residents whether they think Massachusetts Avenue should have four lanes as it does now.

Hell no! Narrowing Mass Ave will just force cars onto side streets and parallel roads that aren't designed to handle the traffic. Sure, the people who live on Mass Ave might be safer at the expense of making everyone else in town less safe. The congestion will create more pollution and lead to more road rage. Arlington has a bike path parallel to Mass Ave that is perfect for a cycle track. Roads are not meant to be shared by drivers and bikes, so why force it when you have a perfectly good alternative a few hundred feet away? Crazy progressives. If the democrats want to reduce car usage, let all state and municipal employees get to work without a car. That's several hundred thousands cars off the road, several thousand parking lots freed up. Less obesity for those who's health care cost is paid by taxpayers. C'mon deval, issue rules that public employees take the T, bike or walk to work. Let's see how well that sits!!

I wish everyone would see that the goal is improve traffic and safety and also to provide a safe alternative for commuting to work or to nearby areas. This would reduce congestion and pollution not increase it. Maybe more people riding bikes could reduce the traffic by a few hundred cars each day. The naysayers of this are probably the same people who said "drill baby drill". Let's be a little forward thinking and figure out what the real problem is. Its that there are no easy alternatives to driving, so people take a car to work. Let's start giving people an alternative to driving.

For the arguement above about the amount of cars is increasing so we should just increase the lanes, how about thinking about this and working on the problem of why we need the cars in the first place. I went from driving, to taking public transportation to riding a bike to work. It's cheaper, healthier, and sets a great example for our children and it's definitely not cooler to ride a bike to work. It's actually more difficult and takes a lot more planning and effort to do it. We can look to Europe and their use of the public roads and bikes. By expanding the roads and not addressing the real problem of why are roads are so congested with cars, we're sticking our heads in the sand. Let's figure out how to reduce the number of cars on the road each morning.

I don't understand the arguement that bikers should use the Minuteman bike path. The bike path doesn't go to where everyone needs to go and it's multi-use with bikers, joggers and walkers. Why don't the cars instead of Mass Ave take Rt2? Or why don't those people driving on Mass Ave just take a bus? How about better car pooling?

No roads really are not. It is derelict of our political leaders to make the claim. You have 3 ton vehicles and even bigger trucks moving at 30-50 miles per hour on the same road as 200# bikes moving 5-20 mph. The chance for deadly accidents is real and on the rise. Further, the goal of 10% of road users using bikes would create havoc with serious traffic issues. That's why activists eventually seek cycle tracks, where bikes are separate from motor vehicles. Look to Europe where cycle tracks are common. I could go on, but these few points should make you think, if not, so be it.

I live within a quarter of a block of Mass Ave on the Cambridge end of the proposed roadway improvement project and see first hand, on a daily basis, the traffic and issues along the corridor. The only traffic that may exist along this road, in either direction, is traffic that backs up from the Alewife Brook Parkway stoplight because that intersection is undersized and is not in Arlington. In addition, there is no proposed removal of vehicular travel lanes in that direction. In reality, the roadway is only striped for one lane in each direction currently, however, I do understand that it's frequently used as a four-lane roadway. There is never, ever, traffic going in the direction toward Arlington Center, even at peak afternoon travel times. This is the direction that will be one wide vehicular travel lane.

The other improvements that will help move traffic along are the MBTA bus stops actually being long enough to fit a bus, of which they are not currently, therefore they should be out of traffic. There will be a bike lane an additional width in the outbound lane for a delivery vehicle to move out of the way of the travel lane. Biles will now have their designated lane and will not impede traffic in a vehicular lane, as they currently do.

Please also remember that the main goal of this project was NOT to add bike lanes, but to improve safety along the Mass Ave Corridor. Maintaining the status quo does not do this. The less distance a pedestrian needs to cross in any stretch improves their safety. Crossing four lanes as a pedestrian, a bike, or a car is significantly less safe than crossing three. Two would have been our best case scenario, but there was compromise with the opposition wanting four lanes.

Also, to add, all of the traffic studies and analysis determined that one lane in each direction for most of the corridor would have been sufficient for traffic flow.

As a pedestrian, I haven't had any issues with walking around the Center or East Arlington.

As a motorist, I've found that those areas do have a lot of traffic and that lessening the lanes makes little sense.

WHAT WE DO NEED is to paint the lane dividers where they should go on Mass. Ave. so drivers will stay to the left or to the right instead driving right down the middle. I think some "third" lanes at traffic lights are improvised by drivers, too. A lot of anarchy out there! Are we supposed to form three lanes at the lights or no?

I don't live in Arlington anymore (I did for several years and I live in Medford now) - but can I ask a serious question? Who are these politicians representing - who is demanding these changes? What percentage of Arlington taxpayers and residents ride a bike on a consistent basis - 5%, 10%, 20% max? Why is so much money and time being spent on such a small group? Did anyone see the storm a few weeks ago - is the is city planning on banning bicycles during the winter? This is not Europe and we have a very different climate.

Why not a bill on bicycles riders responsibilities and not just "rights" - the problem is people what to be "special" and don't want to deal with responsibilities.

All bikes should be registered and have a license tag

All riders need a license to operate and should take a test

Moving violations need to be enforced and fined at the same rate as cars - so no going wrong way down a street because it's conventient etc.

All riders need a helmet and will be fined $50 for first violation, $100 for second, $250 for third and then revocation of biking license.

There's a beautiful bike lane that parallels Mass Ave (part of the bike path that goes all the way to Bedford and beyond) in E. Arlington--there is no need to waste that much taxpayer dollars.

For pittance they should provide clear lane marking (thus far there are none, leading to lots of confusion), and they should also provide pedestrian crossings--currently there are few, poorly lit zebra crossings, without even a yellow blinking light to alert drivers.

But reducing lanes by half is a BAD idea. It will NOT lead to safety--it will lead to more dangerous roads and side roads, since the number of cars are NOT going to be reduced by half--at least not in the coming decades.

If the bikers actually obeyed the rules of the road, as they are supposed to, I wouldn't have a problem. BUT, many Saturday mornings, I find a pack of cyclists that are 3-4 wide and hinder drivers from passing them, they don't obey traffic signals, and a lot of times, don't let the driver know when they're turning.

Mass Ave is crazy enough with the buses, cars, trucks, etc. and narrowing the roadways may be the creation of more problems.

No Way. The traffice that was experienced during the snow strom this winter should a warning. Not sure about anyone else but having the lanes go to a single caused many to be stuck in traffice for over an hour going from Arlington to Cambridge.

So all you folks that think about pollution etc. The traffic causes cars to idle for a long time!!

Absolutely! While I understand Arlington passed on the opportunity to have subway access back when the Red Line was being extended, it has another chance to encourage and reward non-auto transit through improved and efficient street design that accounts for the needs of all users, whether it be motorists, byclicsts, pedestrians, or bus-riders. I count myself in all of these groups; however, why is it that everyone besides motorists have to justify their use of the streets and request that their transit needs be met too? Study after study has shown well-planned "road diets" can actually improve safety while maintaining (and even increasing!) auto throughput. I was originally skeptical too, but believe it or not, these two goals are not inconsistent. For example, there is an EXCELLENT youtube video called "Poynton Regenerated" that proves that intersections like Mass/Pleasant/Mystic streets can be improved for everyone by removing all traffic lights and creating a shared plaza for all users. It's counterintuitive, but it really works and reduces traffic jams! Check it out.

Many of us do. And I'd rather that bus not need 20+ minutes to get from Lake Street to the intersection with Route 16.

As was said before, the Minuteman Path is within a few hundred feet of Mass Ave at Pond Lane, and it's 4 - 5 blocks away at most anywhere south of that. I use it all the time, and it's one of the main reasons I moved to Arlington. But so is MBTA access, and I believe that the additional congestion this project would cause on Mass Ave, and by extension the impact on public transportation, far outweigh the benefits.

Edit -- Saw that the design has been updated to keep two eastbound car lanes on Mass Ave. While not addressing all of my concerns, it is an improvement over the 1 & 1 plan.